Combustion device

ABSTRACT

A combustion device having a chamber for passage of the products of combustion therethrough and having a surrounding wall for heat transfer through said wall to external media. The combustion chamber has inlet and outlet means at opposite ends thereof with orifice plates extending transversely of the combustion chamber, which orifice plates have their peripheries secured directly in circumferentially spaced segments to the inner face of the surrounding wall, leaving minute segments between the secured segments for small amounts of combustion particles or gases to leak therethrough into the particles or gases passing through the orifice plates, thereby materially increasing the efficiency of the combustion of the burning gases.

United States Patent [1 1 Bailey [4 1 Mar. 26, 1974 COMBUSTION DEVICEJohn J. Bailey, 1701 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60622 [22] Filed:May 3, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 356,803

[76] Inventor:

5/1967 Reba et a1 431/353 X Primary ExaminerEdward G. Favors Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Burns, Doane, Swecker &

Mathis [5 7] ABSTRACT A combustion device having a chamber for passageof the products of combustion therethrough and having a surrounding wallfor heat transfer through said wall to external media. The combustionchamber has inlet and outlet means at opposite ends thereof with orificeplates extending transversely of the combustion chamher, which orificeplates have their peripheries secured directly in circumferentiallyspaced segments to the inner face of the surrounding wall, leavingminute segments between the secured segments for small amounts ofcombustion particles or gases to leak therethrough into the particles orgases passing through the orifice plates, thereby materially increasingthe efficiency of the combustion of the burning gases.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to improvements in fuel bumers or combustion devices, and moreparticularly to the type of burner disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,722,180,Nov. 1, 1955, and in US. Pat. No. 2,907,382, Oct. 6, 1959.

The fuel burner disclosed in the aforesaid patents was provided with acombustion chamber having transverse orifice plates therein spaced alongthe length of the chamber between the inlet and outlet thereof, with aburner and air supply means at one end and with a surrounding wall foreffective heat transfer to a surrounding medium. Each of the orificeplates was secured about its periphery to the inner face of thesurrounding 7 wall.

I have found that the securing of the entire periphery of each orificeplate to the inner face of the surrounding wall resulted in a lowercombustion efficiency than can be achieved by intermittently securingthe periphery of each orifice plate to the surrounding wall.

The object of this invention is to improve the efficiency of the burnerand combustion chamber.

I have discovered that a great improvement in efficiency can be obtainedby securing the surrounding edge of each orifice plate to the inner faceof the wall at circumferentially spaced zones and leaving zonesunsecured so as to leave minute passages for leak-by of a small amountof the burning gases which pass around the peripheral edge of each plateinto the flow of combustion gases through the orifices thereof. Thesecured zones can be provided by a segmental row of circumferentiallyspaced spot welding or tack welding at each of severalcircumferentialsegments on the periphery of the orifice plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS One embodiment of the invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a burner and combustionchamber;

FIG. 2 is a detail longitudinal section through a portion of thecombustion chamber at one of the orifice plates, illustratingdiagrammatically the flow of combustion gases therethrough; and

FIG. 3 is a transverse section through the combustion chamber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DISCLOSURE Turning now to a detailed descriptionof the drawings, the numeral designates a combustion chamber casing orhousing, which may be of circular cross section, as shown, but it isunderstood that it may be of any shape in cross section withoutdeviating from the spirit of my invention.

The combustion chamber 10 is provided with a plurality of baffle plates11 spaced longitudinally therein and provided with orifices orrestricted apertures 12 substantially centrally disposed within thebaffles. These baffle plates are preferably conical with the apexturning downstream. The orifices 12, preferably, should be inlongitudinal axial alignment.

An exhaustport 13 is provided at one end of the combustion chamber10that connects to aflue conduit 14, preferably helical in form, thatpasses through a 2 fluid tight jacket 15 and extends substantiallythroughout the length of chamber 15. The conduit 14 has an outlet 16from the jacket 15 that conducts the burned gases to a suitable stack orchimney. Fluid openings 17 and 18 are provided in the jacket 15, asshown in FIG. 1, for inlet and outlet respectively of. the media to beheated, such as gaseous fluid or air, or a liquid.

A fuel pipe 19 with a nozzle 19', including any desired means forignition, is located at the inlet end of the combustion chamber 10 andmay be of conventional design adapted to operate on either liquid orgaseous fuel for combustion. An aperture plate 20, similar to the baffleplates 11, is provided at the inlet end of chamber 10. The nozzle 19 islocated so that the spray pattern of the fuel generally passes throughthe orifice 21 in plate 20 into the chamber 10.

According to this embodiment of the invention, air is admitted into anozzle housing 22 by means of a conduit 23. The air flow is provided byany conventional type of air pump, such as a rotary or turbine typeblower. The air flow is divided into three parts after entering thehousing 22. The flow of the primary air to the burner nozzle 19 is shownat 24. A secondary flow of air at 25 is directed between two cylindricalsleeves 26 and 27 spaced apart by a helical vane 28 that imparts arotational spin to air flow 25 as it is directed about the nozzle axis.The tertiary air flow 29 passes through annular opening 30 between theplate 20 and sleeve 27 so that this tertiary air provides a wipingaction as it flows across the plate 20 and through the orifice 21.

The baffle plates llproduce a turbulent flow of the burning gases byvirtue of the fact that they cause the direction of movement thereof tochange approximately every time a baffle plate is reached. As the hotburning gases pass the length of the combustion chamber 10, they areforced through the restricted openings or orifices 12. This will cause achange in velocity of the gases in the chamber .10, and again a furtherturbulence will take place along the baffles 11 as well as on the insidewall of the chamber 10. This process is repeated through each successivebaffle 11 until the maximum efficiency of the combustion of the burninggases is obtained and the products of combustion are exhausted throughthe port 13 and through the helical flue conduit 14, giving up heat tothe fluid medium 31 in the jacket 15, thereby utilizing the heat of thecombustion for heating that fluid, either air, water or other fluid.

The surrounding wall of the combustion chamber 10 is made of sheet metalwith a smooth inner surface. Each of the baffle plates 11 has itsperiphery shaped to fit the inner wall surface of the combustion chamber10. This forces the burninggases from the burner nozzle 19" to passthrough the orifice l2 ineach of the baffle plates 11 substantially inthe manner illustrated by the arrows in FIG. 2. The forced flow ofburning gases that is directed through the orifices 12 of the severalbaffle plates 11 will cause the gases to sweep alongthe inner surfacesof the expansion chamber formed between each adjacent pair of baffleplates and to change direction after passing through the orificesthereof, as also indicated in FIG. 2, until the column of spent gases orproducts of combustion under this forcedfeed is directed through theoutlet 13. The directionaland velocity changes through the orifice 21 ofthe baffle plate 20 are identical in function to those in the baffleplates 1 l.

Each of the baffle plates 11 is secured in circumferentially spacedsegments thereof to the inner face of the surrounding wall of thecombustion chamber 10, preferably by segments of tack welding, generallyindicated at 32 in FIGS. 2 and 3 or by overlapping segments or othersuitable means. Each of these segments of tack welding or otherwiseextends only for a small segment of the circumferential length of thebaffle plate 11 with gaps of unsecured segments 33 therebetween which,however, are not materially spaced from the inner face of thesurrounding wall 10. It has been discovered that this relationshipprovides a materially increased efficiency of the combustion. It isbelieved that this relationship in the mounting and securing of thebaffie plates to the inner surface of the surrounding wall has twoeffects.

When the orifice plates 11 are secured at spaced segments 32 to thecombustion chamber wall 10, the heat absorbed from the burning gasestransfers more slowly through the orifice plates to the combustionchamber wall because of the smaller total combined linear length of theintermediate or spaced areas of tack welding and thus does not provideas much direct conduction surface between the plates and the wall.Therefore, the orifice plates will function at a higher temperaturebecause they do not release heat as quickly as the surrounding wall.Thus, the burning gases are directed or deflected by the highertemperature plate surfaces and thereby continue at a more efficientcombustion temperature as they pass through the combustion chamber.

As the turning gases are forced through the axial openings 12 in thebaffle plates 11, these gases are de flected around the peripheries ofthe plates, as shown at 34. If there were no space for some of the gasesto leak through at the peripheries of the plates, there would be asuction effect created around the plates which would reduce the flow ofthe gases out to the periphery of the combustion chamber in each of theexpansion chambers provided between a pair of spaced plates and thusslow down the passage of the gases through the combustion chamber.However, the lack of continuous welding around the periphery of each ofthe plates provides minute leak-by passages through which small amountsof the burning gases at 34 may pass from one expansion chamber toanother without passing through the central orifice, thereby permittingthe larger mass of the gas flowing through the orifices to continue onin a generally smooth forward flow without curling back upon itself anddisrupting its flow pattern.

Thegases thus passing through the unsecured segments 33 of the orificeplates 11 do not function as air for purpose of combustion, but insteadare products of combustion or burning gases. This produces a controlledturbulance of the burning gases which provides for maximum combustionefficiency.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in oneembodiment, it is recognized that variations and changes may be madetherein without departing from the invention as set forth in claims.

I claim:

1. A fuel burner comprising a combustion chamber having a surroundingwall and an inlet at one end a an outlet at the opposite end, anintermediate plate therein spaced from the inlet and outlet, said plateextending transversely to the surrounding wall of the combustion chamberand defining with said surrounding wall enlarged expansion chambers,said plate having a substantially central orifice therein and having asurrounding edge substantially abutting against the surrounding wall ofthe combustion chamber, and means for securing said surrounding edge ofthe plate to the inner face of the surrounding wall alongcircumferentially spaced segments of the surrounding edge.

2. A fuel burner according to claim 1, wherein the securing meanscomprises welding extending along circumferential segments of thesurrounding edge and spaced from adjacent segments of the surroundingedge.

3. A fuel burner according to claim 1, wherein a plurality ofintermediate plates are provided spaced from each other along the lengthof the combustion chamber, each having a substantially central openingand with a surrounding edge substantially abutting against thesurrounding wall of the combustion chamber and secured thereto alongspaced segments.

4. A fuel burner according to claim 3, wherein the intermediate platesare frusto-conical and the central orifices are restricted and aligned.

5. A fuel burner according to claim 1, wherein the spaces between thesecuring means provide minute leak-by passages for small amounts ofcombustion gases to pass from one expansion chamber to the next.

6. A fuel burner according to claim 1, including burner means at theinlet end of the combustion chamber having means for supplying air andfuel thereto and whereby burning gases pass through the orifice in thetransverse plate from one expansion chamber to another, the spacesbetween the securing means providing minute leak-by passages for smallamounts of combustion gases to pass from one expansion chamber to thenext.

7. A fuel burner comprising a combustion chamber having a surroundingwall and having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the opposite end, aplurality of intermediate plates therein spaced from the inlet andoutlet and from each other, said plates extending transversely to thesurrounding wall and defining with said surrounding wall enlargedexpansion chambers, each of said plates having a substantially centralorifice therein and having a surrounding edge extending along the innersurface of the surrounding wall of the combustion chamber, means forsecuring the surrounding edge of each plate along spaced segments insubstantially airtight relation and with the spaces between the segmentsunsecured and providing substantially minute leak-by passages for smallamounts of combustion gases to pass from one expansion chamber toanother.

8. A fuel burner according to claim 7, including burner means at theinlet end of the combustion chamber having means for supplying air andfuel thereto under pressure whereby burning gases at high velocity passthrough the first orifice into the first expansion chamber, are reducedin pressure and increased in velocity and changed in direction againtopass out through the next orifice plate with consequent exit velocity,the small amounts of gases passing through the leak-by passages beingdirected into the burning gases after passage through the orifice in theplate.

9. A fuel burner according to claim 7, wherein the plates arefrusto-conical and have constricted orifices in axial alignment.

1. A fuel burner comprising a combustion chamber having a surroundingwall and an inlet at one end a an outlet at the opposite end, anintermediate plate therein spaced from the inlet and outlet, said plateextending transversely to the surrounding wall of the combustion chamberand defining with said surrounding wall enlarged expansion chambers,said plate having a substantially central orifice therein and having asurrounding edge substantially abutting against the surrounding wall ofthe combustion chamber, and means for securing said surrounding edge ofthe plate to the inner face of the surrounding wall alongcircumferentially spaced segments of the surrounding edge.
 2. A fuelburner according to claim 1, wherein the securing means compriseswelding extending along circumferential segments of the surrounding edgeand spaced from adjacent segments of the surrounding edge.
 3. A fuelburner according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of intermediate platesare provided spaced from each other along the length of the combustionchamber, each having a substantially central opening and with asurroundiNg edge substantially abutting against the surrounding wall ofthe combustion chamber and secured thereto along spaced segments.
 4. Afuel burner according to claim 3, wherein the intermediate plates arefrusto-conical and the central orifices are restricted and aligned.
 5. Afuel burner according to claim 1, wherein the spaces between thesecuring means provide minute leak-by passages for small amounts ofcombustion gases to pass from one expansion chamber to the next.
 6. Afuel burner according to claim 1, including burner means at the inletend of the combustion chamber having means for supplying air and fuelthereto and whereby burning gases pass through the orifice in thetransverse plate from one expansion chamber to another, the spacesbetween the securing means providing minute leak-by passages for smallamounts of combustion gases to pass from one expansion chamber to thenext.
 7. A fuel burner comprising a combustion chamber having asurrounding wall and having an inlet at one end and an outlet at theopposite end, a plurality of intermediate plates therein spaced from theinlet and outlet and from each other, said plates extending transverselyto the surrounding wall and defining with said surrounding wall enlargedexpansion chambers, each of said plates having a substantially centralorifice therein and having a surrounding edge extending along the innersurface of the surrounding wall of the combustion chamber, means forsecuring the surrounding edge of each plate along spaced segments insubstantially airtight relation and with the spaces between the segmentsunsecured and providing substantially minute leak-by passages for smallamounts of combustion gases to pass from one expansion chamber toanother.
 8. A fuel burner according to claim 7, including burner meansat the inlet end of the combustion chamber having means for supplyingair and fuel thereto under pressure whereby burning gases at highvelocity pass through the first orifice into the first expansionchamber, are reduced in pressure and increased in velocity and changedin direction again to pass out through the next orifice plate withconsequent exit velocity, the small amounts of gases passing through theleak-by passages being directed into the burning gases after passagethrough the orifice in the plate.
 9. A fuel burner according to claim 7,wherein the plates are frusto-conical and have constricted orifices inaxial alignment.